Air New Zealand uses Sports Illustrated bikini models for new safety video

Other than the takeoff and landing (and possibly the chicken dish), the most dreaded part of any air travel has been listening to, yet again, the flight safety information. For decades, even infrequent fliers could recite most of the salient points about flotation devices, putting your air bag on before you help anyone else, finding the exits and the universal complexities of operating a one-step seat belt buckle.

Air NZ safety video

(Screen grab courtesy YouTube & Air New Zealand)

Why? Because there are only so many ways you can cover those topics. Or so we thought.

Within the past 10 years, with the advent and spread of seat-back screens, most airlines are putting some serious effort (and some T&A, apparently) into engaging passengers with safety videos that are fun, artsy, sexy, engaging and, yes, even instructional.

The latest noteworthy effort (posted on YouTube on Feb. 11) is from Air New Zealand, which pretty much leads the pack in humorous, star-filled safety videos. It features no fewer than four Sports Illustrated swimsuit models — Chrissy Teigen, Jessica Gomes, Hannah Davis and Ariel Meredith (five if you count a cameo from Christie Brinkley flirting with a hunky pool boy) — who spend the entire 4:10 clip in their (ahem) work clothes.

If it were just cheesecake, it would just be cheesy. But the video (above) is playful, cheeky, helpful, cultural and, most importantly, memorable. (It’s shot among the postcard-worthy scenery of the Cook Islands.) But I have to wonder: What makes a great air-safety instructional video? And do passengers retain the information longer (or better in moments of emergency) because they laughed while learning it? Do the videos foster customer loyalty?

In the comments, tell us what you think, and which airlines make the best videos, and we’ll look at who has the best ones in future posts.